I've noticed that sourceforge has reintroduced a rating
system based on advogato. This looks to be very handy and
would be excellent as a way to gather metrics on (open
source software development (OSSD) projects

When I become an apprentice I'll post this here as a
question to developrs

I'm currently starting a PhD at an Australian
University
and I want to examine the open source model of software
development. I am interested in using strategic management
theory (using a resource-based view) to identify factors
that lead to successful open source software projects.
After doing some reading, and discussion with my
supervisors, I am very keen to move my research along. I do
in fact have lots of questions relating to research on the
open source model that I have to address in the near
future. I would like to ask the Slashdot community to
comment on one issue in particular and it is a fairly
fundamental question.

I've set up my phd as a project on sourceforge
(phdstrat.sourceforge.net). I'll be using the site as my
main information publishing venue etc. I have also put up
my draft research outline
(http://phdstrat.sourceforge.net/stage2.html) which I would
also like any comments on. It is far from being finished or
finalised.

My main question at the moment is, what is
`success'
when looking at open source software development projects?
How can you tell one project is more effective than
another? This is a critical question for researchers who
wish to examine open source software projects. I haven't
really seen the issue addressed in any detail and have it
going over in my mind. In particular it is an issue for the
management field as most researchers examine firms where
success is measured in dollar terms (profit, ROI etc.).
This is rather a narrow view of success (effectiveness or
performance) in itself and won't be appropriate for
examining open source software project success - for
obvious reasons.

In the recent open letter by Bob Young to
Slashdot,
Bob
mentions Redhat's success is derived from the open source
license which gives customers control over the technology
they are using. There are a range of other properties of
the open source model that have been pointed to as reasons
for its success. These are often made by comparing open
source to the proprietary binary-only model. As with Rob
Young I am not interested in this comparison at this point
in time as much more work needs to be done on understanding
the open source model itself. Yes, I think it is
interesting and necessary, but I want to focus on what
distinguishes a successful or effective open source project
from an unsuccessful or ineffective open source project.
I'll leave the detailed open source - close sourced
comparisons to someone else.

I think that the open source model requires that
we
develop a broader definition of `success'. Exactly what
that definition is I'm not sure. The documents I have read
point to a range of indicators of effectiveness or success
and point to Apache, Linux etc. A resource-based approach
assumes that project leaders will attempt to make their
project successful. Success is contingent on the strategic
choices they make in relation to the identification,
development and deployment of key resources. Given this,
projects should vary in terms of the set of resources they
have. Some projects will be more effective and more
successful; others will be less effective and less
successful. There will be many resources, however only some
resources will be "key" resources. As there has been no
research on open source projects using a resource-based
view exactly what the resources are is difficult to define
at this point in time - a blank canvas if you like.

We can maybe look at the benefits to the
individual
to
see what might contribute to project success. I can
definitely see pay-offs to individuals in terms of
developing knowledge and skills, so is effectiveness based
on getting the most knowledgeable and skilled people on
your project? Successful projects might be ones where
project leaders are able to draw in talented programmers
because they are themselves talented and respected
programmers. Perhaps projects are successful when they
attract more human, social and organizational resources in
general.

As ESR mentions there are also network effects
and
network externalities operating in the open source model,
so is success the size of the network and the amount of
resources the network attracts? Is success indicated by
network activity? This would indicate some idea of a
critical mass being required for a project to begin
operating effectively. Naturally this will depend on the
type of project being examined (this is another issue I
have to deal with).

At the project level project success might be
more
difficult to define. Does a measure of effectiveness
include indicators of how quickly bug reports are resolved,
age of the project, how often new versions are released or
meeting project deadlines?

On the flipside, what are the most likely causes
of
project failure or indicated ineffective projects?

I am interested in reading some discussion on
this
topic. The open source model challenges many assumptions
held in the management literature. I think strategic
management might have something offer in better
understanding open source projects. In the near future I
hope to develop my research topic further and even further
down the track try to get more information from projects
and involve them in my research.

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